


Bird Yellow

by Kaimiiru



Category: BIRDMEN - 田辺イエロウ | Tanabe Yellow
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-10
Updated: 2019-06-10
Packaged: 2020-04-23 22:06:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,833
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19159915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kaimiiru/pseuds/Kaimiiru
Summary: An AU where Arthur survives the trip to Japan.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: I got the premise idea from Sapphie on the Birdmen discord, and I wanted to make my own version of it!
> 
> Code:
> 
> “Blah” Normal
> 
> " _Blah_ " Normal Tweet/ Silentwing
> 
> “ **Blah** ” Loud Tweet/ Silentwing 
> 
> “ **[Blah]** ” Death Tweet/ Bellwether

_Something is off._

Eishi dreaded the feeling, knowing answers usually did not come in positive regard. But it was something he had to know, something that burned in his chest when he considered ignoring it. _Whoever said that curiosity was a positive, fluffy feeling was a downright fool._

And so, he whipped off his clothes and cloaked himself in his wings. He opened his window and kicked off the windowsill, flying up and away into the night sky.

Takayama was out again… Eishi headed quickly to where he was, not wanting to tweet out and wake everyone up for what could be no reason.

He spotted Takayama crouched over something… no, someone. He felt the burning sensation in his chest grow larger and creep along his body as he glided closer.

“Takayama, who is…” He asked out loud as he landed, confused as to why his body was hurting until he trailed off. Takayama was doing it again-transferring wounds to himself from a nearly-naked and weakened… birdman.

The yellow markings on his body confirmed it from the dozens of videos Eishi watched. This was the birdman from America. Takayama swayed on his feet.

“Taka-Red, stop!” Eishi shouted as the strongest of the bird club fell to the side. He fluttered over to both of them, skidding on the rocky surface to catch Takayama before he hit his uncovered head on something. Half of his face was burnt, and his wingmass looked much thinner or outright missing in places. “You idiot, don’t strain yourself!” Eishi chided, tugging Takayama’s hands away from Arthur’s arm. He glanced at Arthur. Arthur was in tatters, covered in sea salt and sea water. His wing mass was curled over the worst of his wounds. Eishi wondered if Arthur was going to die.

“No. He’ll survive.” Takayama muttered.

“ _You’re his companion._ ” Arthur’s silent wing said weakly. Eishi puffed up in agitation. He could not carry them both. He would worry about the implications later, right now he had to bring them to safety.

“ **[Everyone, wake up. This is a state of emergency, come to me as soon as you can. Takayama’s hurt.]” He death-tweeted, “[The american birdman’s here, he’s hurt too.]** ” He added. Takayama tensed against him and Arthur squeezed his eyes shut at the strength of his order.

“ _What?! Seriously?! His huge flock’s probably nearby too right?! _” Kamoda asked excitedly, his voice faint from the distance. Eishi looked around and at the sky, but he could not sense anyone.__

____

____

“I’ll help.” Takayama shuddered as he tried to push off of Eishi supporting him, but Eishi grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

“No you won’t, idiot, you can barely sit up straight.” He turned to Arthur, “Phoenix. Where’s your flock.”

“ _… I don’t understand a lick of Japanese._ ” Despite everything, Arthur grinned at him.

“ _Where’s your flock, Phoenix?_ ” Eishi tweeted irritably.

“…” Arthur wasn’t smiling or looking at him any longer. Eishi’s irritation faded into worry at the storm in his eyes.

Kamoda was first to arrive, skidding on the ground.

“ _Green, pick up Phoenix._ ” Eishi ordered, and swung Takayama’s arm over his shoulder to stand. He then knelt to swoop him off his feet. Despite Eishi’s smaller size, Takayama felt more bulky than anything. “ **Everyone, we’re going to Kamoda’s house!** ” He heard a tweet of agreement from Rei.

“Okay!” Kamoda’s face was set in a serious frown as her carefully picked up Arthur. They took off, and Eishi struggled to re-orient himself with Takayama’s weight in his arms. “ _Didja fly all the way over the ocean, Phoenix?_ ” Kamoda asked.

“ _My wings carried me here._ ” Arthur replied mysteriously.

“ _Your wings, huh? They must be very strong._ ” Kamoda said in amazement.

“ _I am strong…_ ” Arthur’s voice and gaze trailed off again, “ _Although I’m super weak right now, you’ll see my true power eventually!_ ” He said enthusiastically.

“ _I look forward to it!_ ” Kamoda chirped.

“Red, you awake?” Eishi asked.

“Barely.” Takayama muttered.

“Want me to drop you?”

“Go ahead.”

“I was joking, idiot.” Eishi found himself holding Takayama tighter.

“ _I know._ ” Takayama replied in an amused manner. His smile, however, faded much too quickly.

“ _So you’re both a bellwether too?_ ” Arthur asked before Eishi could press Takayama for answers.

“ _We’ll exchange information when you’re healed._ ” Eishi deadpanned.

“ _I’m not._ ” Takayama said, much to Eishi’s irritation and Arthur’s perplexion.

“ _Hey guys! We brought the first aid kit!_ ” Rei called out from Kamoda’s house below. Umino was waiting on the roof outside. Eishi and Kamoda dived down. Kamoda landed a bit harshly, causing Arthur to groan in pain and Kamoda to become extremely apologetic extremely fast.

“Shut up and get inside.” Eishi said, trotting behind Umino, whom led them all to an empty room with cots already laid out. They set the two hurt birdmen down. Rei and Umino started to clean and bandage the wounds while Eishi and Kamoda locked and guarded the doors.

“If only I was a life giver, then we wouldn’t have to go through with this.” Kamoda groaned. That gave Eishi an idea.

“Takayama, can you transfer your wounds to another person?” Eishi asked, “We could all handle the injuries if they were spread evenly.”

“Don’t worry. We’ll live… We just need rest.” Takayama replied, taking the wound cleaners from Umino like they were just dabs of water. Arthur groaned and hissed in the background.

“ _Aw, sworry, I’ll be more gentle._ ” Rei mocked him casually. Arthur glared at him weakly.

“ _You might need a feather duster coated in alcohol._ ” Eishi commented.

“ _Isn’t that too sharp for him? Oh, I know, I’ll get a cat’s whisker and do water one drop at a time._ ”

“ _That’s way too sharp, get a piece of gossamer._ ”

“ _You guys are meeaaean._ ” Arthur whined, but he was smiling. The next time Rei dabbed a cotton ball at his wounds, he didn’t flinch and protest as much.

They got dressed and stayed together at Kamoda’s house that night, eating snacks, napping, watching for danger… And some TV. Arthur and Takayama were asleep for the most part.

“I’m heading back to my house. My mom’s getting suspicious about how often I sneak out.” Eishi eventually announced, “If anything comes up, call me. I’ll come back here after school.”

“Aye aye, cap’n.” Kamoda mock saluted him, “I’ll skip school and look after these two.”

“You sure are cheerful for such a noble sacrifice~.”

“Shut up, Rei!”

“I’ll go to school. Kamoda’s mostly reliable!” Umino said cheerfully.

“Mostly?!?!”

“They’re not girls, so I’ll go to school too.” Rei said.

“What kind of man do you think I am?!” Kamoda cried.

“A wild man, same as Black.”

“Oi, don’t lump me in with him.” Eishi said, causing Kamoda to dramatically crumple to the ground.

“I thought we were bros…” Kamoda whined as Eishi waved goodbye to everyone who was still conscious and left him in the dust. Rei crouched down and patted Kamoda’s shoulder sympathetically.

—-

During sixth period, Eishi received a text in the Bird Club’s group chat.

Arthur flew away! ~Green

What happened? ~Black

Red got a call, I went with to help him, but when we went back Arthur wasn’t there! ~Green

“ **Did you find him?** ” Eishi called out.

“ _Yes we did!_ ” Kamoda replied. Eishi wondered why in the world he was texting him if he was close enough to tweet.

“ _He’s fast._ ” Takayama said, “ _Should I catch him?_ ”

“ _Sure, if he doesn’t go back to Kamoda’s house willingly._ ” Eishi sighed. He couldn’t catch a break, could he?

“ _I can hear your entire conversation, you know!_ ” Arthur chimed in.

“ **[Phoenix, go back to Green’s house.]** ” Eishi death-tweeted.

“ **[Why should I?** ” Arthur death-tweeted back cheekily, causing Eishi break the pencil in his hand, “ **I belong in the sky.** ”

“This little…” Eishi growled under his breath. He was putting them all in danger!

“Karasuma, do you have the answer to this equation?” The substitute sensei suddenly asked. Eishi glanced at the indicated problem on the board, and then in his textbook.

“Sensei, give me time. This is the most complicated word problem in the chapter and will take me at least a half hour to break down.” He replied evenly. Despite the humiliation that was supposed to come with being called out in class, the ‘ooo’s, pitying, and perplexed looks he had cared so much about before had no effect on Eishi. He was, however, rather irritated with Arthur and it showed on his face.

“Sure.” The teacher, blinking owlishly before returning to the lesson.

“ **Takayama, Kamoda, I changed my mind. If he’s flying away, just leave him be.** ” Eishi said, scribbling slowly in his notebook to make it seem like he was taking notes. Arthur was probably trying to find his flock. If he was making trouble far away from them, did it really matter what he did? He wasn’t his babysitter or jailer. Eishi felt his anger start to settle the more he thought about this.

“ _But Eishi, he’s leading us in circles around the school!_ ” Kamoda’s declaration made the anger come back, all the more powerfully.

Eishi ran his hand through his hair to try to calm himself for a moment, before… “ **[Phoenix, do you think this is a fucking game? Eden has our sights on us, and if ANY of act out we could all be killed or taken away. They know your face, hell, you’re all over the news all around the world so /everyone/ knows your face-]** ”

“ _I’ll go back._ ” Arthur said suddenly, in a defeated manner, “ _I’m sorry… I wasn’t thinking._ ”

“ _We got em, Black!_ ” Kamoda said soon after.

“ _Hey, why are you going to school and blending in with the humans?!_ ” Arthur burst out suddenly, “ _You don’t need to do that, we-_ ”

“ **We’ll talk later. I’m in class.** ” Eishi said lowly.

“ _But-_ ”

“ _Shut up, Phoenix._ ”

“ _Okay…_ ” Arthur sounded like such a kicked puppy that Eishi resisted the urge to roll his eyes. There was a brief moment of peace that lasted until next period.

After class, Rei whispered, “... Something’s up with him, Eishi. He hasn’t lied to my knowledge, but there’s something vital that he’s not telling us.”

“Thanks, trickster. We’ll get the truth out of him.” Eishi replied with an eerie smile. Rei smiled back at him and they went back to doing school duties.


	2. Bird Yellow Ch2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Premise: Arthur struggles to adapt to the bird club.
> 
> Time taken: 6 hours ._.’
> 
> A/N: I’m really enjoying this fanfic, it’s quickly taken a ‘life’ of its own!
> 
> Characters: Eishi, Arthur, Rei, Takayama, Kamoda Umino, Naoyuki
> 
> Code:
> 
> “Blah” Normal
> 
> “ _Blah_ ” Normal Tweet/ Silentwing
> 
> “ **Blah** ” Loud Tweet/ Silentwing
> 
> “ **[Blah]** ” Death Tweet/ Bellwether

Eishi was texting the Bird Club’s advisor on the way to Kamoda’s house, Rei keeping a lookout as he did so.

_We found another birdman. Thought I’d let you know._ ~Black

There was a number of reasons why he didn’t mention it was Arthur; mostly because Eishi had a sneaking suspicion that even his texts were being watched by Eden. Eishi stared at his phone for a few moments, before going to put it in his pocket when it rang.

“Hey.” Eishi answered it.

“Hey, Eishi. What will you do with him? Hide him?”

“We don’t know yet. I’m on my way to question him.”

There was a pause. “Eishi… could you and your friends come to a house I indicate tonight?”

“…” Eishi looked to Rei, who was listening in. Rei shrugged and smiled in a ‘why not?’ manner. Naoyuki had long ago proven that he was trustworthy; it was really a matter of courtesy to make sure this was okay with the president of the bird club. “Sure. We’ll bring the new guy too.” Eishi said.

“Great, I’ll see you tonight.”

“Yeah.” Eishi disconnected the call.

—

When they arrived at Kamoda’s house, they found Arthur fresh out of the shower, clothed, laying on the couch, and eating piles of japanese snacks. The TV was on, but on a low volume.

“ _Wow, are there any more flavors?! Green tea still kinda tastes gross though._ ” He tweeted enthusiastically.

“ _Dude, I’m blowing through my allowance, I can’t get you any more snacks._ ” Kamoda whined.

“ _You can just take it! They’ll never catch you! Here, I can he-_ ”

“ **A thieving freeloader as ever, I see.** ” Eishi said, making Arthur freeze and turn to him with the most sheepish of smiles.

“ _Oh go easy on him Eishi, he’s never had these snacks before!_ ” Kamoda said.

“ **I see.** ” Eishi took the bag of half-empty nori crackers from Arthur’s hand like it was resting on the table and grabbed a handful. Arthur looked somewhat flabbergasted, but soon pouted and sulked as Eishi knelt at the table and sat down.

“ _Umino’s not here yet?_ ” Rei asked, sitting on the arm of the couch and turning off the TV with the remote.

“I’m sorry!” Umino shouted from the front porch, “My bike and I got caught in traffic!”

“ _It’s fine…_ ” Eishi said, “ **Hey Takayama, where are y-** ”

“ _I’m here._ ” Takayama walked out from the kitchen, water bottle in hand. He gave Arthur a confused glance as he stared at the water bottle almost in fear, and tossed it to him. Arthur caught it, looking equally as perplexed. Eishi wondered about the odd interaction, but Umino ran in before he could ask.

“Hey guys!” Umino quickly put her bag on the floor and sat across from Eishi at the coffee table. Everyone returned her greetings. Arthur finally sat up, folding his bare feet cross-legged. Kamoda sat next to Arthur and gave him a friendly grin, which he returned somewhat, if a bit nervously. Takayama seemed content to lean against the wall.

Rei introduced them all to Arthur, whom frowned and nodded, sounding out the names with his mouth.

“ _I have some questions to ask you, Phoenix._ ” Eishi said, pulling out a notebook with the title ‘novel notes’, “ _You are willing to answer them, right?_ ”

“ _Depends on the questions._ ” Arthur said defensively.

“ _I’m not telling you to spill your deepest darkest secrets._ ” Eishi said as he scribbled notes on his behavior, “ _We just want to know your intentions._ ”

“ _I…_ ” Arthur suddenly seemed unsure of himself.

“ _You do want to stay with us, right?_ ” Rei asked gently.

“ **Yes.** ” Arthur nodded.

“ _That’s a good place to start._ ” Eishi leaned back and glanced at the clock in the room, “ _In about an hour we’re going to the sky terrace, and then we’ll officially induct you into our bird club. But!_ ” He looked at the hopeful Arthur, “ _That means you have to follow some ground rules,_ **especially** _you. As I said before, Eden has their eyes on us._ **Not to mention everyone in the world knows your face.** ”

“ _Does that mean I can’t go out…?_ ” Arthur asked, slumping in his seat.

“ _Nah, nothing a little makeup and a haircut can’t fix!_ ” Rei said, waving his hand.

“ _A facemask, too!_ ” Kamoda added.

“ _Oh, I have an idea! We can have him mute and mysterious!_ ” Umino chimed in.

“ _The masked silent freeloader, amazing._ ” Eishi muttered.

“ _I… don’t want to take from you guys. I can find some other place if you don’t want me here…_ ” Arthur said, his gaze lowering. Eishi shared some glances with everyone. Although no words were exchanged, he knew what they had agreed to as a reply.

“ **You have wings, so you’re already one of us.** ” Eishi said simply, making Arthur look up, “ _You aren’t the worst case. The last one Takayama turned was an assassin from Eden that tried to kill us._ ” Takayama nodded when Arthur gave him a perplexed look.

“ _Eden… they tried to_ **kill you guys.** _Even though you’re heroes…_ ” Arthur suddenly bristled with rage, his eyes turning red. His voice came out as a low growl, his bright aura filling the room, “ **[EDEN…!]** ”

For the first time, Eishi truly felt the effects of another bellwether; Arthur’s sudden rage barely hiding a deep, deep despair. His flock wasn’t doing so swell under those heavy emotions that nearly felt as if they were their own; Umino was struggling to breathe, Rei looked shocked, Kamoda looked close to tears, and Takayama had more of a guarded expression than usual.

Indignation creep up within Eishi; this was HIS friends and even then he didn’t want HIS own emotions to even spill out and effect them to this extent! But, he had to calm down Arthur. Arthur, who seemed to be glassy eyed, curled into a ball, his mind racing over events he desperately was trying to shove down. Attacking him would make this worse. Eishi felt his own power rise up to meet with Arthur’s in a manner of self-defense, and he was able to move and speak.

“ **[You’re safe here. We will protect you.]** ” He spoke lowly, but besides Arthur jerking as their auras mixed he just wouldn’t calm down. Eishi frowned in a barely controlled mix of panic and frustration, and reached out to touch his hand.

He was bombarded with emotions, and images that Arthur was quickly pulling back before he could make out. In response, Eishi gritted his teeth and reached into himself. He shoved his own images of the bird club having fun and bonding upon Arthur, along with the comfort and peace of being together as a flock and getting through many challenges. Arthur retreated from him, leaning unknowingly against a frozen Kamoda, but Eishi slid forward to keep the contact. Eventually, Arthur grasped his hand in a powerful, shaky grip. Eishi did his best not to show pain.

“ **[But what if I’m not enough…?]** ” Arthur’s voice was a whisper but his emotions screamed. Eishi had gotten through to him, but Eishi didn’t know how long that would last.

“ **[Even if you think that, you have to keep going.]** ” Eishi replied, trembling with him but his voice remaining steady, “ **[The world is cruel and uncaring, but we can change our very fates if we work together. You’re not alone.]** ” He squeezed Arthur’s hand back and waited. He felt Arthur’s grip loosen.

“ **[… You’ll really accept me? Even if I’m a fuck up?]** ” Arthur was looking at him now, snot and tears all over his face. His anger had broken, and now there was only a sadness as deep as the ocean.

“ **[I already answered that question, Phoenix. We said yes.]** ” Eishi said resolutely, his throat tightening. Through the tingling on his back he felt Arthur examine him, in both his wings and their now combined aura. He still found that sensation unpleasant.

Arthur seemed to calm, his bellwether ability deactivating and making the bird club give out a collective sigh of relief as most of them tried not to crumble to the floor. Eishi took back his hand and wiped his face on his sleeve. “ _I’m sorry for bursting out like that…_ ” Arthur mumbled. With a glance at the rest of the bird club, Eishi realized most of them were crying, except Takayama.

“ _Hey, it’s cool, Eishi awakened in a similar way!_ ” Kamoda said, and grabbed a handkerchief to blow his nose loudly.

“ _‘I’ll kill them all!!!’ I think were his words!_ ” Rei chuckled.

“ _Hey! Shut up about that!_ ” Eishi shouted, his face turning red.

“Arthur really turned on the waterworks, huh?” Umino laughed. Rei translated for a confused Arthur, who blushed, hiccuped, and made a strange distressed noise in his throat.

Takayama ended up leaving the room.

“ _Hey, Takayama, you’re crying too?!_ ” Rei exclaimed.

“ _Takayamaaa! Come back! Not fair that you get to hide your crying face!_ ” Kamoda shouted. Eishi took his phone out and snapped pictures of Kamoda, Arthur, and Rei in a speedy fashion.

“What are you doing, Eishi?” Umino asked, perplexed.

“ _… Blackmail._ ” Eishi replied, in which Rei pretty much tackled him to get at his phone. He stubbornly hugged his phone to his chest and curled into a defensive ball.

“ _Kamoda, Arthur, help!_ ”

“Why?” Kamoda asked, picking his nose uncaringly.

“ _My di-gnity is at stake!_ ” Rei’s voice broke. Arthur let out an uneven breath, before bursting into loud laughter. It was contagious, as Kamoda and Umino soon joined him while Rei protested. Eishi managed to keep a straight face as Rei finally pried his phone from his hands to delete the pictures, only to realize that Eishi had backed up the pictures to several icloud folders that each needed separate passwords to get into. Rei let out a yell of anger and playfully shook him. Eishi didn’t hide his smirk then.

Takayama walked in with a smile and a box of tissues, which everyone grabbed and wiped at their faces. “ _It’s time to go visit our advisor, isn’t it?_ ” He commented.

There was a slightly horrified pause and a chorus of “ _Oh, right!_ ” from Kamoda, Umino and Rei as everyone glanced at the clock nearby. Eishi snatched his phone back from Rei and texted Naoyuki that they may be a bit late.

“ _Kamoda, give Arthur a mask, a hat, and sunglasses._ ” Eishi said, standing up. Kamoda nodded and trotted out of the room.

“ _What a cliche disguise._ ” Rei snickered. Eishi rolled his eyes.

“It’ll have to work, though!” Umino piped up.

“ _I could wear a ski mask!_ ” Arthur suggested.

“ _That’s even more suspicious._ ” Eishi deadpanned.

“ _Back!_ ” Kamoda handed the items over. Arthur put them on and everyone had to try really hard not to laugh.

“He’s like a celebrity that’s in disguise.” Umino said.

“ _He is, isn’t he?_ ” Rei grinned.

“ **Sky terrace let’s go!** ” Eishi barked impatiently, walking out of the room. Everyone glanced to one another before following him outside to the barely visible sunset.

—

When they had arrived on the helipad of Rei’s suite, it was completely night out.

“ _Welcome to the top secret meeting place of the bird club, Arthur!_ ” Rei announced, “ _We’d have an official induction but we have to-_ ”

“ _I told Naoyuki we’d be a little late. We can spare some time._ ” Eishi spoke up.

“ _Well, first of all we have to transform!_ ” Rei went on. Arthur nodded and whipped off his shirt like it was crawling with fleas- “ **WAIT WAIT WAIT-** ” Arthur froze like a deer in the headlights. “ _Please keep in mind that there is a lady here!_ ”

“ _Oh. My flock didn’t mind being naked in front of one another._ ” Arthur said, perplexed as Umino’s face turned red.

“I’ll go wait insideknockwhenyou’redone!” Umino spoke quickly, running back in.

“ _Well, that’s not how it works in the bird club._ ” Eishi said. Arthur nodded so seriously that Kamoda had to cover his mouth to keep from laughing as he undressed.

Rei gave Kamoda a look as if he was looking at a cockroach.

“ _Shut up Rei! Any healthy man would react like th-_ ”

“ _I worry about the future of all men around, then._ ” Rei sighed as he unbuttoned his pants. Eishi rolled his eyes and took off his clothes to transform.

Arthur seemed much more… bouncy in his birdman form, looking rather relieved to be out of his disguise. Rei went to knock on the door and out came a transformed Umino with a curious gaze.

“ _OFFICIAL INDUCTION BEGIN!_ ” Rei announced, hands on his hips as the bird club automatically made a circle. Arthur was in the circle as well, bouncing with some occasional ‘clicks’ of his talons.

“ _… What the hell even is the official induct-_ ” Eishi began,

“ _The fog clears to a magnificent radius! I’m the one who sees all,_ ” Rei posed, his arms outstretched to his sides and his wings half-folded as if he were a god gracing everyone with his presence, “ **Bird White!!** ”

“Chocolate rain drips the stars and cotton candy cushions your feet!” Umino jumped right in, spreading her wings up and cupping her face in her hands like a shoujo character, “The world would be bitter without me, Bird Blue!” Rei enthusiastically translated for her. Arthur whistled.

“ _Darkness will never claim the immortal warrior of the heavens!_ ” Kamoda shouted, half-kneeling and lifting pointing an imaginary sword to the sky, “ **Here I am, BIRD GREEN!** ”

“ _The too-normal japanese boy with wings who has a terrible personality!_ ” Rei gestured to Eishi, who puffed up and and fluttered a step back like a frightened bird, “ _He’s the bird club’s twitter feed,_ **Bird Black!** ”

There was a pause as Rei, Kamoda, Umino, and even Arthur snickered at Eishi’s flustered face and gaping mouth.

“ _I’m just Re-_ ” Takayama started to say, his arms crossed.

“ _The watcher! The guardian! He appears at the darkest hour!_ ” Rei declared, ignoring him, “It’s light of the new moon, Bird Red!”

“ _It’s no use, Takayama, we’re going to dragged in anyway._ ” Eishi grumbled. Takayama nodded in sagely understanding. And then, everyone looked to Arthur almost expectantly. Arthur looked to each of them and then seemed to realize something.

“ **Igniting the crumbling world with flames of hope! He’s reborn from the ashes of his mistakes and into a new era of peace!** ” Arthur shouted with all his heart, getting into a battle stance, giving a few punches that were so powerful they actually caused ripples in the air, and flaring out his wings, “ **They call for you, BIRD YELLOW!** ”

Everyone was speechless for a moment at the strength of his emotions in his voice.

“ _That was awesome!_ ” Kamoda shouted, giving a playful shove to Arthur, who took a step and smiled in a somewhat flustered fashion.

“It seriously was!” Umino squealed, jumping a few feet in the air with loud clacks of her talons.

“ _Good work!_ ” Rei said with a big grin. Eishi did feel a bit depressed he was so terrible at this game, but seeing the four of them rile each other up and screech and jump around did make him smile. He gave a glance at Takayama, who seemed rather peaceful watching them but there was something in his somewhat gaze that made him… sense something was up.

Before Eishi could ask, Kamoda got shoved into him and they both fell over with a yell.

“ _Ugh… should’ve been mindful of the roughhousing zone._ ” Eishi muttered.

“ _Sorry Eishi! _” Kamoda picked him up to place him onto his feet. Eishi felt annoyed at being manhandled, but tolerated it.__

__“ **[Let’s fly.]** ” Eishi said, taking a running start and hurling himself off the skyscraper for an easy takeoff. Everyone else’s wings thundered behind as they leapt after him into the dark sky._ _


	3. Bird Yellow Ch3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Premise: Arthur’s low opinion of humanity conflicts with bird club’s viewpoint.
> 
> Characters: Eishi, Arthur, Takayama, Umino, Rei, Kamoda, Marilyn, Naoyuki, Adam
> 
> Time taken: about three days
> 
> A/N: I had a vague idea about where this was going, but these characters haven’t failed to surprise me yet!
> 
> Code:
> 
> “Blah” Normal
> 
> “ _Blah_ ” Normal Tweet/ Silentwing
> 
> “ **Blah** ” Loud Tweet/ Silentwing
> 
> “ **[Blah]** ” Death Tweet/ Bellwether
> 
> Additional a/n: I wrote this third chapter a while ago, and since then I've become better at writing. So, this is the final chapter that I will post of Bird Yellow unless I decide to rewrite this story entirely. Thank you for reading!

“ _Hey, why are we calling each other by our colors?_ ” Arthur spoke up. He was drifting around, trying to find a good spot in the Bird Club’s natural v-shaped formation.

“ _That’s our codenames. Our human and bird club lives are different!_ ” Kamoda replied.

“ _Oh! Oh yeah, who’s this ‘advisor’ you were talking about earlier today, Red?_ ” Arthur asked.

“ _He’s a human._ ” Takayama said.

“ _Huh?!_ ”

_Detailed as ever, Takayama._ Eishi thought dully. He felt his phone ring and answered it.

“Hi, Eishi. Are you all in the air?” Naoyuki asked.

“Yeah, I’m looking for your signal now, old man.” Eishi said. He felt Arthur fly up next to him, listening in no doubt with a frown on his face. Eishi ignored him, searching the ground for a flashing light.

“ _Over there!_ ” Kamoda dived to speed up below Eishi and pointed.

“Confirmed signal. Beginning descent.” Eishi tucked his wings in and dived down to a house in a speedy fashion. Unused to their formation, Arthur fell behind and was the last to land on a large porch. Naoyuki was there, turning off his flashlight and waving them inside a dark room.

“Where is this? Is it safe?” Eishi pressed, keeping his mask on.

“We’ll talk inside.” Naoyuki said. Eishi nodded and followed him closely into the house, the others squeezing in behind him with their wings wrapped around them. “Ok, you can turn on the light now.”

The light flashed on, revealing Marilyn and a man in a room filled with costumes, masks, and hats.

“Iiiit’s Marilyn’s room!” Marilyn announced.

“Wahh, that scarf is so cute!” Umino squealed, pointing to the fox scarf that the man was wearing.

“ _Huh? Who is that?_ ” Eishi asked, staring at the man.

“ _Is that a Russian?_ ” Kamoda whispered.

“ _It’s Mr. Smith._ ” Rei replied.

“Wait,” Marilyn stared at Arthur, who stared at them as if they were oddly shaped aliens, “Are you…”

“The american birdman!” Mr. Smith said, blinking wide-eyed as he took off his hat, “You’re alive?!”

“HEY NAOYUKI?! WHY DID YOU BRING HIM HERE?! Are you trying to se-” Eishi panicked as the information of a ‘stranger’ being here sunk in.

Naoyuki wrestled Eishi to keep his hand over his mouth,“Shhh! Calm down! The neighbors can still hear you!”

“ _Can someone please translate for me???_ ” Arthur cried.

“ _Kamoda, do you mind doing it? Gotta concentrate._ ” Rei asked.

“ _No prob!_ ” Kamoda translated for Arthur. Arthur, quite suddenly, gave Mr. Smith an intense glare. He shouted something in english, fast enough that none of the bird club understood, but when they heard ‘Eden’ all eyes were fixed on Mr. Smith. Mr. Smith smiled as if resigned. Naoyuki stood in between Arthur and Mr. Smith, sensing Arthur was about to become violent.

“Please, let us explain.” Naoyuki pleaded with a panicked look on his face. Umino was the one who tugged Arthur back.

“ **Let me handle this, Phoenix.** ” Eishi said, and although Arthur let out a angry huff he stayed back.

“This is your case officer from Eden.” Naoyuki began. Eishi felt a bristling distaste, bordering on hatred, rise up in him.

“Helllooo, I’m Adam Fox, a former employee of Eden.” Mr. Smith, erm, Adam said.

“Johnathan Smith is an alias, then.” Rei said coldly. Johnath- ADAM tilted his head as if considering that.

“Johnathan is what my friends call me. My real name is Adam.” Adam replied with a smile.

“ _Adam… I’ve heard that name before. They’re clones._ ” Arthur spoke, crossing his arms, “ _I’ve seen them in the farms. They don’t live very long._ ”

“Phoenix informed me that you’re a clone that doesn’t have long to live.” Eishi spoke out loud.

“And he’s right.” Adam confirmed, “That spares that explanation.”

“Are you the one who shot Kamoda?” Eishi coldly asked.

“I ordered it.” Adam confirmed again without missing a beat. And Eishi felt his power creeping up, about ready to consume the danger in front of him.

“ **He shot Green?!** ” Arthur growled after Kamoda uneasily translated. Eishi could suddenly feel Arthur’s aura goading his forward so they could-

“Wait. No violence.” Naoyuki said hurriedly, putting an arm in front of Eishi. Eishi glared at him as he inwardly wrestled with his last few shreds of common sense, “In a way, he’s your ally. He knows Eden’s inner workings… Let’s talk first.” He said cautiously.

“I thought you said he was our enemy.” Eishi said such in a forced calm that nearly had the man pull away from him. The moment he snapped, so would the rest of the Bird Club, especially with Arthur practically boiling behind him.

“Please!” Naoyuki pleaded with him, definitely terrified now.

“Sorry,” Adam said, “I know a lot has happened, but I’m not as strong as you guys. It would be a problem if you beat me up until I could no longer move.” He met Eishi’s gaze, “I can receive… your ill wishes.”

“Die.” Eishi hissed.

“Soon…” Adam said.

There was a moment of tense silence, before Eishi stepped forward and sat at the table.

The meeting continued relatively smoothly after that. Everyone was encouraged to borrow some costumes; Rei immediately put on a crown and an egyptian looking necklace, Kamoda put on a panda hat, and Umino had a tribal-looking cat mask on. Arthur put on a ridiculous-looking santa hat that had a cone-shaped spring with a cotton ball at the end that jingled whenever he moved his head. Takayama didn’t seem interested; in fact he was looking at the window now of all times. Eishi did not have time to mess around or question Takayama’s ways, he was assessing Adam and coming up with questions.

Adam explained that Arthur was set up by a group called Eve III, who wanted to destroy the world using the birdmen. He also urged the bird club to not give up on humanity.

“ _She said her name was ‘Sky’._ ” Arthur said. He wasn’t looking at them, and he was somewhat curled into a ball again, “ _So she just wanted to use us… I wanted to free her, too…_ "

“Are you using your tweets again?” Naoyuki asked all of a sudden.

“It’s the only way we can communicate with Phoenix.” Eishi replied. He supposed he did pause a lot to not only think, but also listen to the others… Umino cautiously patted Arthur’s knee, who gave her a small, forced smile and curled into himself a bit more.

“Well, if he says anything you think we should hear, please tell us.” Adam said. Eishi nodded, and Adam continued on to detail a plan of cooperation for their next blackout and answer the questions that followed it.

The meeting was then concluded. Everyone filed out and took off quickly from the veranda of the house.

It was a few minutes before Arthur burst.

“ **Why in the world do we have to care about humans, anyway?** ” He suddenly declared, “ _If they left us alone that would be great! We-_ ”

Umino suddenly dived bombed him with a flying kick.

“Ow?!” Arthur yelped, but quickly caught his balance in the air.

“Not everyone doesn’t care about humans!” Umino shouted, “We all have families and friends that are humans!” She flew away from him right next to Rei.

“ _What in the world did she just say?_ ”

“ **She said that you don’t speak for us.** ” Eishi said, perhaps with more bite than he wanted.

“ _Learn your place, newbie!_ ” Kamoda chimed in.

“ _Kamoda, that’s unnecessary._ ”

Both Arthur and Kamoda hung their heads and sulked. Rei covered his mouth and tried not to laugh.

“ _… Hey Eishi, he’s carrying a hat._ ” Rei remarked. Arthur flinched as if he were caught.

“…” _Am I watching a little kid?_ Eishi wondered, and spoke, “ _Guys, go ahead to the sky tower. Arthur, come with me, we’re returning the hat._ ” The others acknowledged this and Eishi and Arthur split off to circle back in the other direction.

“ _You guys found it funny when I was wearing it!_ ” Arthur protested, fluttering to Eishi side with crossed arms.

_“Do I really have to educate you on why stealing is bad?_ ” Eishi asked in exasperation, “ _I’ve seen videos of your flock raiding grocery stores and stalls for food. Has your thievery extended to material objects as well?_ ”

“ _But…_ ”

“ _Listen, if something belongs to someone else then you shouldn’t take it without permission. This is a basic rule in order to have a functional society._ ”

“ **They’re humans, Eishi.** ” Arthur’s tone suddenly changed for the worse, and Eishi wondered if he had chosen the wrong words, “ _You don’t understand yet because you still have families… but they’re not worth fighting for. They’ll recover from what we take just fine._ ”

Eishi wanted to argue back immediately, but stayed silent to choose his words carefully. Losing his cool here would not do either of them any good…

“ _In fact, why do we need to be around them? If we can get away, find a place to settle, make our own food, we can be free and none of them will touch us again._ ” Arthur continued. Eishi saw the house in the distance, but circled back to settle on top of the nearest skyscraper. Arthur followed, his talons skidding against the concrete rooftop for a few feet.

“ _Let’s make our own kingdom, and with enough Seraph we could make a sanctuary where no one can get hurt._ ” Arthur straightened up, gained confidence the more Eishi listened to him. The ridiculous bouncy and jingling hat in Arthur’s hands did not ease Eishi’s silently growing unease as they folded their wings, “ _It might take some time, but we could figure it out. It can start here… we could make it together._ ” Arthur approached him, within arm’s reach, “ **All you have to do is throw away this silly game of playing human.** ”

_The way he’s ushering me away from humanity… It’s reminds me of Takayama… but that guy’s better at hiding it. Ah._ Eishi made an educated guess; _this guy has been a seraph for a while, hasn’t he?_

“ _When were you turned, Phoenix?_ ” He asked. Arthur didn’t seem to be prepared for the question and blinked dumbly, “ _Four years ago?_ ” Eishi guessed.

“ _Oh, no. Eden took me when I was real young. I was turned when I was five._ ”

_This guy… was a Seraph even longer than Takayama was._ Was this viewpoint what awaited all of the bird club?

“ _The majority of us were turned months ago._ ” Eishi said, crossing his arms.

Arthur recoiled, “ **What?!** _Almost all of you awakened, what…._ **What in the world happened?!** ”

“ _Eden happened._ ” Eishi said, looking out the glimmering city below, “ _But we’re still going about our daily lives from when we were human… If Eden left us alone, we’d continue to blend in with humanity until we were dead. I don’t think that’s a bad life… maybe if we were the only birdmen, it would be possible…_ ” He trailed off, looking to Arthur, “ _But we’re not… the bird club has to move carefully. As Adam said, we have be careful not to act out too much._ ”

“ _But that’s… not freedom._ ”

“ _It’s good to have restrictions._ ” Eishi smiled humorlessly, “ _From my experience humans are terrible when they’re unrestrained._ ” He gave Arthur a pointed look.

“ **What are you looking at me like that for?!** _Is it because of the stealing again?!_ ” Arthur huffed, “ _Besides, we’re not human! We’re so much better than that now!_ ”

“ **Better, less, what we can be, what does it matter?** ” Eishi said bitterly, “ _Humans at the moment still think you’re a pest, a thief, a terror coming in to take something precious._ **We need to be held to their standards for us to peacefully coexist.** ”

“ **We don’t have to coexist!** ” Arthur’s voice was almost hysteric now, as sudden anger burned in his eyes, “ **As I said before, we can make our own kingdom! If we combine our powers, I’m sure we could call out to everyone and gather them-** ”

Arthur stopped abruptly. Eishi was still shocked at Arthur’s tone, bordering on a death tweet, a fear that Arthur would make him do something he didn’t want creeping almost venomously into him, would he have to-

“ **It is not time yet, Arthur.** ” Takayama landed between them suddenly- coming in without warning like he usually did.

“ _You told me that before…_ ” Arthur said softly, and stood still as Takayama reached out and grabbed his hand. Takayama’s feathers were flared, and he had a sharp look in his red eyes.

“ _Hey, hey, hey!_ ” Eishi spoke up, suddenly feeling nervous for a different reason, “ _What in the world are you two talking about?_ ”

They were silent, no doubt communicating in that weird way. _More secrets…_ Eishi thought uneasily, but as his anger slowly simmered down in the silence he tried to hope that Takayama and Arthur weren’t going to do anything harmful. Telling them to stop, to not keep anything from him regardless of what it was… would really restrict their freedom, and he didn’t want to tie the people around him down.

Takayama let go of Arthur, leapt off the skyscraper, and flew off. Arthur took a step forward as if to follow him but stopped, looking at Eishi.

“ _Maybe we can… agree to disagree?_ ” He said, in an apologetic tone.

“ _That’s not enough, Phoenix… But it’s a start._ ” Eishi said. Arthur nodded and went to take off, “ _Where are you going?_ ”

“ _I wanted to ask Takayama something-_ ”

“ _Not before you return the hat and apologize._ ” Eishi said, taking Arthur’s arm and dragging him off the skyscraper with him. Arthur fell into formation behind him without protest for once. Eishi took out his phone from his wing mass-case and texted Naoyuki that they were coming back to return a hat.

“Oh, you can keep it if you want!” Marilyn later said with a grin and a wave of her hand as Eishi bowed in apology and held a confused Arthur’s head down too.

“ _Marilyn said you can keep it._ ” Eishi said.

“ _See? She didn’t need it anyway!_ ”

“ _I want you to thank her._ ”

“ _She doesn’t understand english, does she?_ ”

Eishi let go of Arthur, “ _Repeat after me._ ” He spoke the words for ‘thank you, Miss Marilyn’ slowly. Adam, who was still lingering in the room and writing, paused to watch with an interested gaze.

“Th…ank you, Miss Marilyn.” Arthur said in a heavy american accent.

“You’re welcome, Arthur!” Marilyn squealed with joy.

“ _Am I going to have to learn Japanese…?_ ”

“Yes.” Eishi spoke out loud to Arthur.

“ _Uh, was that a greeting?_ ”

“ _No, it was a confirmation._ ”

Arthur groaned as Eishi made his farewells to the rest of the advisors of the bird club and took off, expecting Arthur to follow.

“ _Why do I have to learn Japanese? Do I have to talk to humans? I thought you wanted me hidden…_ ”

“ _Don’t you want to know what people are saying without having us translate?_ ” Eishi asked.

“ _No, I don’t mind at all._ ”

“ _What if we’re not around?_ ”

“ _Eh?_ ” Arthur’s voice took on an almost scared tone, “ **But seraph stay together…** ”

“ _We’ll have leave you alone somewhere for a while while the rest of us go to school. If a human talks to you, you should know basic Japanese or else you’ll look incredibly suspicious._ ”

“ _Oh… I guess I have to learn, then._ ” Arthur grumbled. As silence sank between them, Eishi looked ahead to the sky terrace and came to a conclusion.

“ _Come on… let’s take a detour, Yellow._ ” He said carefully.

“ **Alright!** ” Arthur said curiously. He really did seem to like that nickname, “ _Wait, what about the others? Won’t they be wondering where we are?_ ”

“ _They can wait._ ” Eishi said, closing his eyes to read the wind for a moment before flapping his wings to climb into the air. He couldn’t let Arthur see the others in this state… if Arthur kept bad-mouthing and demeaning humans the way he was doing… Umino especially would get really mad and Eishi didn’t want everyone to, in the worst case scenario, turn against or reject Arthur.

Eishi flew up until he could feel the clouds brush at his face, and formed his helmet as he broke through the first barrier and the air became more thin. Arthur flew up besides him, also wearing his helmet.

“ _Have you ever flown higher than this?_ ” Eishi asked, gliding over the dips and hills of the cloud beneath him. He didn’t mind cloudy nights as much anymore… the clouds gave him more obstacles to cross, and up here the stars glimmered more than he could ever see on the ground.

“ _Oh, no, I never got the chance. If my group flew higher than this, some people would fall behind._ ” Arthur replied, diving in and out of a cloud like a spinning dolphin with wings.

“ _Wanna try it?_ ”

“ _What if we fly into space?_ ”

“ _We could try landing on the moon, then._ ”

“ _… That’s ridiculous!_ ” Arthur laughed, and some of the tension between them loosened. Eishi took a deep breath in and darted upward. Arthur pulled ahead at a great speed- faster than Eishi had even seen Takayama go.

A few minutes of rapid ascension before-

“ _This is tough work._ ” Eishi said, panting even through his special mask. It was harder to breathe, and he felt thirsty and freezing cold. He couldn’t reach Arthur anymore, who was struggling and falling and rising like he was fighting the cosmos itself.

“ _Come on, Black! We can do this!_ ” Arthur was suddenly reaching down to him, his furious flapping not generating as much as wind as it should.

“ _I’m gonna faint if we go on._ ” Eishi said, taking his hand anyway.

Arthur pulled them both up to Eishi’s horror and excitement, “ _Wow… I can really see our breaths up here! Is that ice on your wing?!_ ”

“ _If we both faint and die from fall damage, I’m going to kill you._ ” Eishi said, practically hyperventilating at this point. Ugh, he was going to get a chest cramp from this…

“ _How can you kill me if we’re both dead?_ ”

“ _I’m done._ ” Eishi’s wings drooped, his weight dragging them both down. Arthur wheezed with airless laughter before dropping him and folding his wings to freefall besides him.

“ **What a view!** ” Arthur cried out as the air whistled around them. Eishi took a breath of the icy-cold air rushing in and regained enough focus to look around, his heartbeat thrumming through him. He could see the curvature of the Earth from this height, and far beyond the city he lived in. The lights were beautiful, and for a moment he wondered if there were any distinction from the stars in the sky and the city’s lights below. It was absolutely beautiful, but…

“ _I am… not ever doing this again._ ” He said, rubbing his arms even as he fell. He was shivering, both from adrenaline and the cold. Luckily the air got a bit warmer as they skydived since it was close to summer… if it were winter Eishi was sure he’d get hypothermia.

“ _Agreed… I want to set something on fire and take a nap there._ ” Arthur said.

“ _You live up to your name, Phoenix._ ”

“ _I do?_ ”

“ _Are you a pyromaniac, too?_ ”

“ _What?! No way! I’m just cold right now!_ ”

“ _Right now… Oh, I can’t believe I’ve made you a pyromaniac…_ ”

“ _Blaaaack!!!_ ”

Eishi snapped his wings back into form and swerved at the last second to dive through a gap in the clouds. Arthur dived right through them.

“ **AAAAAH, THAT’S COLD!** ” He yelled while Eishi grinned, “ _You did that on purpose, didn’t you!_ ” Eishi shrugged nonchalantly. “ _I’ll get you back for this!_ ”

“ _That’s what all the villains in television say before they’re taken to jail._ ”

“ _I doubt they said it telepathically! Well, maybe a few in a marvel comic books I didn’t read yet… Wait, I’m going to jail???_ ”

“ _Hmmm…_ ” Eishi hummed both inwardly and out loud as he set his sights on the sky tower, “ _Maybe cops and robbers would be a fun game for the bird club._ ”

“ _You guys play games?_ ”

“ _We’re a club for a reason._ ”

“ _That sounds like fun! I want to join!_ ”

“ _Of course you get to join, Yellow, you’re already an official member._ ”

“ _Ah… yes, of course!_ ” Arthur beamed.

The silence that passed was much better than the previous one. Eishi was a bit guilty that he and Arthur basically ditched the others who were no doubt waiting for them, but it turned out well enough in the end.

“ _You know… I really wish my flock could have met you guys._ ” Arthur said, settling into a glide besides him.

“ _Even if we’re posing as humans?_ ”

“ _No, cause’ I think we’d all be really good friends… Canary and Rei would get along so well, I think.. Fly and Kamoda are so similar… And Robin always did need help opening up to others, she’s such a shy girl, maybe Umino could have helped her…_ ” Arthur spoke their names and others Eishi did not recognize. But as he went on and on, his voice seemed more and more choked with emotion.

“ _… What happened to them, Phoenix?_ ” Eishi asked softly, tilting his wings to drift away from the sky tower again.

“ _I don’t mind it if the others see me cry, so can we head back to them?_ ” Arthur said softly, “ _I don’t like being apart…_ ”

“ _Okay._ ” Eishi replied, putting their course back on track. He worried about Arthur, and wondered if he’d really be okay being by himself even if it was just for a school day tomorrow… Something, just felt off about how quickly Arthur was opening up to him. Was it because they were both bellwethers? Was it because he couldn’t go back to his flock-?

“ _… My group… was shot down, I think._ ” Arthur whispered, barely loud enough to hear.

“ _… You think?_ ”

“ _I… can’t remember clearly. Can I try showing you?_ ” Arthur flinched, “ _Wait, no, I’m sorry, it’s-_ ”

“ _Hey!_ **Heyyy!** _What took you guys so long?_ ” Kamoda suddenly called. In the distance the others were jumping off the sky tower and flying towards them.

“ _We took some detours._ ” Eishi replied.

“ _No fair, Eishi, taking the new guy for yourself!_ ” Rei chided, “ _Umino wanted to kick him around some more!_ ”

“ _Eh?!_ ” Arthur cried. Umino darted ahead to meet them.

“ _Prepare yourself for ditching us on your first day, Yellow!_ ” She shouted, coming at them way too fast, “ _You, too, Black!_ ”

“ _Me too?!_ ” Eishi shouted, and successfully dived under Umino’s swiping arms heading in his direction only to get his helmeted head kicked. He was sent spinning right into Kamoda, who caught him by his wings.

“ _Black successfully captured!_ ” He said proudly. Eishi didn’t bother struggling-he knew Kamoda was far stronger than him and resistance would only feed his huge ego.

“ _That was sneaky, Blue._ ” Eishi said approvingly, looking up to see Arthur was faring.

“ _Haha, is this one of the games?_ ” Arthur and Umino were doing figure 8’s at such high speeds that Eishi’s eyes were spinning, “ _You can’t catch me, Blue!_ ” His wings thrummed powerfully as he spun up at a rate that left Umino let out a groan of frustration. His helmet melted back into his armor as he flashed them a cheeky grin.

Eishi sighed, “ _Umino, both Takayama and Kamoda couldn’t catch him until he gave himself up. Your efforts are probably meaningless-_ ”

“ _Silence, prisoner!_ ” Rei cried out, “ _We can all catch him if we work together, yeah?_ ”

“ **Yeah!** ” Umino and Kamoda chorused, although Umino was doing all the work. Takayama seemed content to watch, perched on a skyscraper crane below.

Eishi was glad they were getting along, but felt as if he had unfinished business with Arthur. However, seeing him and the others so happy now… there was no way he wanted to ruin this by talking about the destruction of Arthur’s flock. It would have to wait until later…

_I should prepare myself for that memory-sharing thing, too…_ Eishi thought, unconsciously holding his hands to his chest. He didn’t like it, it felt beyond way too personal, but if Arthur knew of a threat that could harm the bird club, or a way to get him back to what remained of his flock if there were any left, he’d put up with it…

“ _Hey, Black, you wanna make your punishment less severe by helping us catch him?_ ” Kamoda asked.

“ _You’ll let me go?_ ” Eishi asked.

“ _Yeah._ ” Kamoda let got of him, and Eishi suddenly dived and darted away out of sight, “ _Hey! Eishi! You said you’d help!_ ”

“ _I never agreed to anything, just asked if you’d let me go._ ” Eishi replied matter-of-factly, swooping up before the city lights could reveal him too much and tucking in his wings to go through a gap between the pipes behind a billboard to slow Kamoda down before finding a blessed updraft of air that made him shoot up into the air.

“ _Reiii, Eishi’s getting awayyy!_ ” Kamoda lamented.

“ _It’s your fault, you were supposed to watch him! You’re getting punished too!_ ” Rei declared.

“ _You’re not doing anything, Rei! I’m gonna punish YOU!_ ” Umino cried, tackling Rei who screamed. 

“ _Attacking the president! You’re getting punished too, usurper!_ ” Rei shouted as he struggled fruitlessly. Eishi snickered from above, only to sense someone coming too late- he was grabbed! And considering those yellow markings on those arms-

“ _I caught Black! Does that mean my punishment is less severe?_ ” Arthur called.

“ **Yes!** ” Kamoda cheered.

“ _Traitorous pickpocket, I should have known…_ ” Eishi grumbled. Arthur laughed as he dragged Eishi down to the others.

“ _What even is the punishment?_ ” Umino asked while she held a limp Rei in a headlock.

“ _… Catch Takayama._ ” Eishi said. It would both be challenging and maybe drag Takayama out of the weird funk he was in.

“ _Oooo! That’s a great idea!_ ” Umino cheered, “ _Let’s get im’! … Hey, Rei, are you okay?_ ”

“ _I’m dead._ ” Rei muttered.

“ _Cool!_ ” Umino said, dropping him. Rei yelped but regained his balance quickly and elegantly as if he had never made a sound, coughing as if to clear his throat.

Takayama, the definition of elusive, didn’t move as everyone glanced to one another before diving down to him in unison…

_He’s baiting us!_ Eishi thought, but besides a few shocked blinks Takayama didn’t do much as everyone grabbed onto him in a weird winged pile. There was a shocked silence.

“ _… Was I supposed to fly away?_ ” Takayama asked, completely pinned down. Umino burst out laughing, which got everyone else going at how ridiculous this all was. Takayama gave a smile.

“ _Of course you were!_ ”

“ _Get off me, Kamoda, you’re heavy!_ ” Rei whined.

“ _Ok-owowow_ **OW EISHI WATCH THE CLAWS-** ” Kamoda said.

“ _Whoops._ ” Eishi snickered.

“ _Why you little-_ ”

“ _Can you please not fight when you’re lying on top of me!_ ” Arthur cried.

“ _Think of how poor Takayama feels!_ ” Umino said, her face red as she realized that she was stuck, too.

“ _I’m fine._ ” Takayama said as he turned towards her, making Umino scream and kick and soon everyone was struggling to get out of this pile. They dispersed in a few moments and hung onto various parts of the crane, panting and giggling like idiots.

“ _We should go back to the sky tower before anyone sees us._ ” Eishi said, and with everyone’s agreement the successfully bonded Bird Club fluttered back to base.


End file.
